Researchers at ETH Zurich investigated the human body’s ability to generate electricity to show how implanting a fuel cell under the skin can convert blood sugar into energy. A research group led by Martin Fussenegger published Advanced Materials shows that our excess blood sugar can even power medical devices like insulin pumps and potentially pacemakers.

“Many people, especially in Western industrialized countries, consume more carbohydrates than they need in their daily lives,” Fussenger says in a press release. “This gave us the idea of ​​using this excess metabolic energy to generate electricity to power biomedical devices.”

The team’s new fuel cell is based on an electrode made of copper-based nanoparticles developed specifically for this application at ETH Zurich’s Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering in Basel. It is wrapped in a special non-woven material and coated with a substance made from algae, often used in medicine, called alginate.

This tissue-lined fuel cell can then be implanted under the skin, where the alginate can do double duty: absorbing body fluids and opening the door for glucose to enter the fuel cell. And when it’s there, it can attach to a capsule containing artificial beta cells, which are man-made mimics of the cells that make insulin in our bodies.

Some of the fuel cells of this duo are powered by glucose, which is absorbed and broken down by the cell to produce electricity. This electricity then travels to a capsule of artificial beta cells, where it stimulates them to produce insulin and release it into the bloodstream. The system can then return the person’s blood sugar to normal and stop insulin production until another spike in blood sugar is detected.

“The new system,” says Fussenegger, “autonomously regulates insulin and blood sugar levels and could be used to treat diabetes in the future.”

The team says enough electricity is generated in the body not only to power these artificial beta cells, but also to allow the entire system to potentially communicate with external devices. This allows users to edit body-powered insulin pumps directly from their phone.

The product has been successfully tested on mice, but Fussenegger says his team does not have the funding to make the idea commercially viable. I hope they find a partner soon.